Monday, September 15, 2014

LifebankUSA Facebook Contest

If you've never heard of them before, they are the only company that offers cord blood, placenta blood, and tissue banking, and the first to release placenta-derived stem cells for a successful transplant. New Jersey-based, LifebankUSA is a technological leader that is pioneering key medical innovations in the field. Owned by the Celgene Corporation, a world-class biopharmaceutical company, LifebankUSA also operates a robust donation program and collects cells from anywhere in the US for use primarily in advancing medical research.

As an expectant parent, your baby’s health means everything. Right now, he or she is protected in the womb and will soon enter the world. There is a lot to think about and prepare for, but an invaluable step you can take when your child is born is to preserve his/her stem-cell rich cord and placenta blood The ability of stem cells to save lives via cord blood banking has proven successful for replacing abnormal or diseased cells, and treating life-threatening blood disorders such as leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma.

On a personal note, I wanted to talk about my older brother Shaun for a minute. I never got the opportunity to meet him, as he died just three months before I was born from leukemia. He was only six years old at the time (diagnosed at age three). This was almost forty years ago when cord blood banking unfortunately wasn't an option for expectant parents. We are so lucky to have this opportunity today.

When you bank with LifebankUSA, we include tissue banking (tissue from the placenta).* Placental tissue contains mesenchymal cells (MSCs) and MSC-like cells. While stem cells found in cord blood and placenta blood have been used to successfully treat patients, there are currently no approved uses for stem cells derived from the umbilical cord or placenta tissue. Possible therapeutic applications are in early research stages and LifebankUSA's parent company is actively involved in their development.

LifebankUSA will store the placenta tissue for you as part of our complete banking package using our cryogenic tanks for long-term preservation. In the event your baby's tissue cells are ever needed for future therapies, the tissue may then be processed and cultured using available technology at that time.† Tissue banking is just one more layer of protection and peace of mind offered by LifebankUSA.

*Storage fees apply

†Clients will be responsible for the cost of shipping the tissue and any culturing or expansion of the cells.

To enter the LifebankUSA Peace of Mind contest please click HERE and "like" their Facebook page. Then be sure to enter the drawing for your chance to win $500 OFF Cord Blood Banking!